India’s current squad looks so settled that there’s hardly room to infuse fresh blood, but the following players stand a strong chance of earning a Test cap whenever the team decides to look beyond the existing pool.
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The current Indian team has built a sound foundation by developing its well-functioning core of players. In the current XI featuring in the World Test Championship final, only Shubman Gill has fewer than 20 Test appearances. However, it wasn’t long ago that India fielded two Test debutants on the Australian tour, the first time they had handed two new caps in the same Test in seven years. With multi-format workload increasing, and injuries catching up with players, there’s enough merit in introducing uncapped players to Test cricket and building a team for the future.
Here are five players who could be next in line for a Test cap (whenever that happens):
(All statistics mentioned are their first-class numbers)
Rahul Chahar
17 matches, 69 wickets @ 28.62, 7 five-fors, BBI: 5-59
It won’t be surprising if, in India’s next home series, Rahul Chahar emerges as a contender to grab a Test spot. In the recent home series against England, Chahar was added to the Test squad initially and brings an attacking leg-spin option in a team that hasn’t tried one since Amit Mishra’s last Test in 2016. The spin competition is stiff: beyond India’s first-choice duo, they have Washington Sundar and Axar Patel, but Chahar’s remarkable composure and ability to reinvent in white-ball cricket could soon give him route to red-ball international cricket, too.
Shreyas Iyer
54 matches, 4,592 runs @ 52.18, 12 hundreds, HS: 202*
There might not be an immediate vacancy for Iyer to fill, but there’s little to disagree that he’s one for the future. If, and when, India decide to rejig their middle order, Iyer would be one of the first names in contention, given his overall experience with the limited-overs sides. In the past, Iyer has been linked to the Test side (as far back as 2017, and as recently as 2020), and could be a solid middle-order option if the side looks to rotate its experienced batters. Backing his selection chances is his fantastic first-class record: average of 52.18 with 12 hundreds, as well as a double-century.
Abhimanyu Easwaran
64 matches, 4,401 runs @ 43.57, 13 hundreds, HS: 233
Easwaran has been waiting in line to be India’s next Test opener for the past few years, but even his heavy run-making in domestic cricket haven’t been enough to make the cut. The 25-year-old has been on the reserves list for India’s last few Test series, including the ongoing England tour, and seems to be on the cusp of earning a well-deserved entry into the main squad. While the existing opening combination might not be tweaked soon, Easwaran could be tried out as a backup to Cheteshwar Pujara if need be (a spot India hasn’t explored enough), given his proficiency against the new ball.
Avesh Khan
26 matches, 100 wickets @ 23.01, 4 five-fors, BBI: 7-24
India’s current pace attack is worth its weight in gold, but the management would have to slowly try out fresher legs at some point in the future. Mohammed Siraj’s standout debut in Australia was a promising start to the trend, and India could look to bring in more pace in its squad by developing a bowler such as Avesh Khan. The quick bowler has been operating on and off in first-class cricket for the last seven years, and in the recent most IPL looked like a newer, more well-rounded version of himself. He is also regularly finding place in India’s reserves list and a call-up at some point could be the next logical step.
KS Bharat
78 matches, 4,283 runs @ 37.24, 9 hundreds, HS: 308; 270 catches, 31 stumpings
Kona Srikar Bharat is unlikely to get a spot in the Test squad right away, owing to a certain Rishabh Pant in the XI, but he’s no doubt the frontrunner as a backup option. Wriddhiman Saha, at 36, can’t be the standby stumper for long, and India would have to consider a younger candidate when looking at the future. Bharat has been the backup on a number of occasions in the past, and an untimely injury could pave the way for his entry into the main squad. To his credit, he’s a half-decent batsman, with nine first-class hundreds to his name, including a triple ton.
